Pandora’s box
Five years after the Panama Papers stirred up a hornets’ nest, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has dropped another bombshell with the release of the Pandora Papers. The leaked financial documents reveal how hundreds of world leaders, influential politicians, billionaires, celebrities and religious figures have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars. They have allegedly been hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts etc. for the past 25 years or so, according to a review of around 12 million files procured from 14 firms located around the world. Those whose ‘secret stores of wealth’ have come under international scrutiny include King Abdullah of Jordan, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistan PM Imran Khan. A few super-rich personalities from India have also found themselves on the ICIJ’s radar.
Rampant tax evasion and stashing of black money are inextricably linked to socio-economic inequality. The Pandora Papers have come at a time when the world is still grappling with Covid-19, which has not only claimed millions of lives but also sharply widened the gulf between the rich and the poor. According to a report of Oxfam International, a British consortium of charities, the 1,000 richest people across the globe recouped their Covid losses within just nine months, but it could take more than a decade for the world’s poorest to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic. The ‘inequality virus’ hit India hard, with its billionaires reportedly increasing their wealth by 35 per cent during the 2020 lockdown.
The financial shenanigans of the elite are depriving developing nations such as India of much-needed tax revenue that can be utilised to fund mega projects in healthcare, education, agriculture, environment and other sectors. The Pandora Papers should hopefully set in motion a thorough inquiry by the governments concerned, followed by legal proceedings to bring the offenders to book. Collective action can act as a major deterrent to the accumulation and concealment of wealth that is ill-gotten or unaccounted for.
